The Last Ride

My father wasn't a fan of roller coasters. He was wary of tall escalators, let alone rickety mechanical rides. But he and my mother dutifully took my brother and me to the coaster havens of our youth and helped plant the seed for this crazy love affair I developed with amusement parks. While he steered clear of the rides, my dad nonetheless enjoyed his park visits around New England, particularly the delicious park food we both craved, such as homemade potato chips and onion rings at Salisbury Beach, chop suey sandwiches (you read that right: sandwiches filled with chop suey!) at Salem Willows, Joe and Nemo's hot dogs at Revere Beach, and the mounds of seafood at Rocky Point's massive shore dinner hall.

While we didn't share a love of coasters, we did share a passion for...passion. He had his own things about which he cared deeply, such as classical music, cars, opera, and Hunan whole crispy fish. He lived his life with gusto and a take-no-prisoners attitude, and he encouraged his children to do the same. While I don't think he quite understood my passion for parks (and I'm not sure anyone, myself included, really does), he did get a kick out of it and applauded it.

My dad died last night, and Friday he'll take his last ride to the cemetery. He crammed plenty of living into his life, but it seemed to end so suddenly. I've often shared my motto here at About.com's Theme Parks site: Life's too short. Enjoy the ride. In so many words, that is the advice that my dad gave to me. Please allow me to pass it along to you. Find your passion, whether it's crazy coasters, Szechuan food, or classical music, and pursue it. Enjoy the ride.